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Tuesday, Joy, Madeline, Michael, Angel, John,  Viann, Hilary

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Education, Policy Experts Discuss Implications of AI in Schools at HGSE Event | News | The Harvard Crimson

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Education, Policy Experts Discuss Implications of AI in Schools at HGSE Event | News | The Harvard Crimson

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Three experts discussed the importance of generative artificial intelligence as a tool to supplement - but not replace teachers - at a Harvard Graduate School of Education event Thursday evening.

The forum, moderated by HGSE Academic Dean Martin West, featured panelists Google for Education official Marta McAlister, U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary Roberto J. Rodriguez, and HGSE Assistant Professor of Education Ying Xu.

West opened by highlighting the rise in student use of generative AI in their coursework.

"As of May 2024, 82 percent of U.S. undergraduates and 72 percent of K-12 students reported having used AI in their schoolwork," West said.

The event, he said, served as an "opportunity to hear the perspectives of individuals who are not only observers, but active participants in that part process of shaping AI's impact in their roles as policymakers, as tool developers, and as researchers."

During the panel, Rodriguez spoke about the Ed Department's report on recommendations for the use of AI in education. He emphasized AI's potential to be used as a tool in the classroom - rather than a replacement for teachers.

"We're equipping our educators with the capacity that they need to make important judgments, to lead pedagogically," he said. "We want to align AI models to a shared vision of education."

McAlister specified that AI offers the potential to reduce teachers' administrative time load, reducing the risk that teachers - who are working an average of 53 hours per week - end up feeling burnt out.

"A lot of people piloting solutions that we've been working with have saved up to 13 hours a week," McAlister said.

Still, she acknowledged the concerns with using generative AI in the classroom: privacy, cheating, information accuracy, bias, and the decline in critical thinking.

"I want to make super clear that I don't believe that an AI can replace the value and soul of a classroom, which, to me, is really the educator and the peers that learn from each other," McAlistar said.

Xu, who researches how generative AI dialogue can support learning, talked about her collaboration with PBS Kids. With the help of generative AI, she said, television shows for children can become interactive.

"One consistent finding is that engaging in dialogue with a media character leads kids to better comprehend science concepts and be more motivated to think about the science problems," Xu said.

West closed the segment by asking the panel about their vision for how AI will shape the future of education.

Rodriguez said that AI was a "powerful tool" and is important for "meeting every learner where they are and helping them grow."

"I'm really excited about how we might see this partnership between the teachers and students, and having them learn together and evolve as a result of this tech," McAlister said.

-Staff writer Kelly A. Olmos can be reached at kelly.olmos@thecrimson.com.

-Staff writer Kenith W. Taukolo can be reached at kenith.taukolo@thecrimson.com.

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Education, Policy Experts Discuss Implications of AI in Schools at HGSE Event | News | The Harvard Crimson

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Three experts discussed the importance of generative artificial intelligence as a tool to supplement - but not replace teachers - at a Harvard Graduate School of Education event Thursday evening.

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AI is transforming how students learn to engage with the world around them and use new technologies to create solutions to real problems.

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Artificial Intelligence In Education: Teachers’ Opinions On AI In The Classroom

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Artificial Intelligence In Education: Teachers’ Opinions On AI In The Classroom

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Artificial Intelligence In Education: Teachers’ Opinions On AI In The Classroom

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In recent years, the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has sent shockwaves through society on both economic and cultural levels. Seemingly poised to become as ubiquitous as email, this rapidly evolving technology is transforming many aspects of daily life—including how we teach and learn

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UNESCO: Guidance for generative AI in education and research

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UNESCO: Guidance for generative AI in education and research

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Unpacking the “Black Box” of AI in Education

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Unpacking the “Black Box” of AI in Education

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EdTech Magazine, AI in Education: New Guidance from the Department of Education

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EdTech Magazine, AI in Education: New Guidance from the Department of Education

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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What Is the DOE Recommending for AI?

In its report " Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning," the DOE digs deep into AI's potential for improving the classroom experience.

The report "provides some insights as well as recommendations" for the use of AI in education, says a DOE official. "We're looking at overall thinking about how AI can shift today's ed tech use in two different ways: from capturing data to detecting patterns in data and from providing access to instructional resources to automating those decisions about teaching and learning processes."

The report spells out a number of practical strategies, including:

Keeping humans in the loop: "The highest priority is emphasizing humans in the loop," the official says. "We want to make sure that educators are involved in all aspects of this integration into our classrooms." Teachers should be included in procurement discussions as schools take on new AI-supported technology. "We also want to make sure that the humans know which tools are using AI," she adds. "They should know how student data is being used and that they can then turn that on or off."

Developing new models: Rather than automating existing paper-based processes, AI offers the chance to create new pedagogical models. "Are we asking for rote memorization? Or are we really preparing students to think more critically and look at inquiry-based and project-based learning?" the official says. "We can look at the different types of instructional models" with the support of AI.

Strengthening trust: Teachers and students will need to have a high level of trust in AI products. That means schools must help them understand how these tools work. "Do we know when it's being used? Do we know where the data is coming from? Do we understand the algorithms being used? We certainly don't want to put ourselves in any sort of situation where we are using algorithms that might bias students," the official says.

How Does the DOE Report Compare to Other Guidance on AI?

In addressing potential bias in AI, the DOE report builds on other recent AI-related guidance documents.

The White House's Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights addresses ethical ground rules. It calls for AI to be developed "with consultation from diverse communities, stakeholders and domain experts to identify concerns, risks and potential impacts of the system." This helps to ensure equitable use of AI capabilities.
Merlyn Mind releases the first large language model for education.
In looking at equity, the DOE is talking not only about algorithmic bias but also about access to educational technologies.

"Prior to the pandemic, the more affluent schools had more access to connectivity and devices. We don't want that to happen" with access to AI, the DOE official says.

Other recent guidance, meanwhile, addresses some of the technical aspects of AI implementation. Google's Secure AI Framework, for example, aims to support the development of secure AI systems. It calls for a strong security foundation in the AI ecosystem, including early detection of AI-related cyber incidents, automated defenses and platform-level controls.

What Can K-12 Leaders Take Away from the DOE's Guidance?

The mere fact that the DOE has stepped up with guidance is a positive sign, Roschelle says.

"The European Union, the U.K., Australia - all these places have been producing statements, reports, policies. It would be strange if we could read reports from all these other policymaking organizations, and there were none from the United States," he says.

"This is an important discussion that we need to have. People need those conversations to have a starting point," he adds.

As teachers and school officials start to have those conversations, they can take away key points from the DOE guidance, the DOE official says.

First, AI has a transformative potential. "It enables new forms of interaction. It's supporting educators via assistants and agents. It can help address variability in student learning with more powerful forms of adaptivity," she says.

Second, it's not going to take jobs away from educators. "We reject the notion of AI replacing teachers," she says. Rather, it will free them to do their jobs better.

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AI in Education: New Guidance from the Department of Education

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Here is the latest guidance from the U.S. Department of Education on AI in education. Find recommendations and best practices for AI use in K-12 classrooms.

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Exploring the Potential of Generative ArtificialIntelligence in Education: Applications, Challenges, and Future ResearchDirections

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Exploring the Potential of Generative ArtificialIntelligence in Education: Applications, Challenges, and Future ResearchDirections

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WSJ: How China Is Using Artificial Intelligence in Classrooms 

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WSJ: How China Is Using Artificial Intelligence in Classrooms 

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How China Is Using Artificial Intelligence in Classrooms | WSJ

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ChatGPT for Educators - K12 and Higher Education

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K-12 Dive: ChatGPT releases teacher guide for AI use in the classroom

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K-12 Dive: ChatGPT releases teacher guide for AI use in the classroom

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ChatGPT releases teacher guide for AI use in the classroom

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The recommendations for K-12 schools and colleges provide examples of prompts for lesson plans and also warn about the tool’s limitations.

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NYT: To Test the A.I. Learning Hype, I Visited Classrooms

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NYT: To Test the A.I. Learning Hype, I Visited Classrooms

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Forbes: Worried About Generative AI In K-12 Schools? Here's How To Navigate 4 Key Issues

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Forbes: Worried About Generative AI In K-12 Schools? Here's How To Navigate 4 Key Issues

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All smiles and ready for the excitement of a new school year.
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School leaders and teachers take time-honored milestones into account as they plan for a successful new year. The anticipation of student schedules, teacher assignments, fresh school supplies, and back-to-school nights build an excited buzz in communities across the country. Schools are skilled at predicting activities that set the tone for the academic year.

In the 2023-24 academic year, however, a completely new and significant topic has burst into schools and must be recognized-generative artificial intelligence.

The generative AI industry is moving into education quickly and many people do not understand the terminology or what the technology means for work products, work quality, and ethical use.

AI is defined by Merriam-Webster as a "branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers" and "the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior." AI has been incorporated in professional and home life as well as educational technology and teaching practices for years.

What makes generative AI different from previous forms of AI? And what are its implications?

IBM defines generative AI as deep-learning models that can generate high-quality text, images, and other content based on data the models or bots were trained on. IBM researcher and Senior Manager of Exploratory Business Strategy Kate Soule explains "generative AI, how we got here, and how these models work" in an informative tutorial on generative AI on the IBM website.

What makes generative AI different from previous forms of AI? And what are its implications in K-12 ... [+]
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K-12 schools are quickly coming to terms with four significant issues related to generative AI:

1. How to create policy that addresses generative AI use among students and in schools;

2. How faculty and staff can effectively use generative AI capabilities as instructional tools;

3. What generative AI means in terms of K-12 schools' responsibility to prepare learners for success in the workforce; and

4. How schools define cheating, plagiarism, and appropriate AI use.

For years, schools have addressed internet safety policies and training for students and staff members. With significant amounts of new information emerging every day, it can be difficult to determine best practices and policy regarding generative AI. Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology offers insights and recommendations for the use of AI in teaching and learning. CDW corporation's EdTech: Focus on K-12 publication provides new AI policy suggestions for school leaders, especially IT leaders, and explores how generative AI is, and is not, appropriate in K-12 schools.

Generative AI exploded on the scene in less than a year's time. Ways to appropriately utilize the technology in K-12 education are hard to conceive of as teachers work to understand the tools, use them to improve instruction and student outcomes, and retain the human elements of critical thinking and creative outputs in learning. It is crucial that students, and teachers, understand how to effectively use AI as an instructional tool. Numerous generative AI tools are available for student and teacher use, including chatbot applications such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard, and Microsoft's Bing.

Influential and robust education-related organizations such as the International Society for Technology in Education, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and national principal and superintendent organizations are moving quickly to provide guidance and help schools approach AI use in an informed manner.

Teachers are exploring generative AI for simple tasks such as welcome letters and the more difficult work of developing thoughtful lesson plans. One example of the ability to employ generative AI in the classroom addresses student literacy. This year's third-graders entered kindergarten in fall 2020. Their crucial literacy years were compromised by the pandemic. Post-Covid, policymakers and educators are keenly focused on building student literacy. Education technology company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt recently announced "new OpenAI-powered integrations within , its award-winning writing practice and assessment solution for grades 3-12." Teachers can utilize Writable 's generative AI capabilities and customizable writing assignments, prompts, and rubrics to provide targeted feedback and build student engagement.

This fall, interested educators and those interested in education can enroll in ISTE's 15-hour, self-paced course, " Artificial Intelligence Explorations and Their Practical Use in Schools."

Geoffrey Alphonso-CEO of Alef Education, a global edtech company- notes "generative AI has the potential to complement" what educators do in the classroom, in timesaving and creative ways, but educators must also be wary of the potential drawbacks. Misinformation is a potential drawback. The FAQ page of Google's chat-based AI platform notes "Bard is experimental, and some of the responses may be inaccurate, so double-check information in Bard's responses." Student safety and privacy concerns are also a part of many discussions.

Generative AI is everywhere, all at once. Its applications have emerged for sales and service industries, business programs, and all aspects of the tech sector. Understanding and properly utilizing these tools will be necessary skills for current K-12 students in the future workforce.

Students recognize the potential of generative AI in education and are leading the charge. The AI x Education conference, organized by high school and college students, as well as recent graduates, encouraged teachers to embrace AI in the classroom. As reported by EdSurge, the organizers produced a conference report and openly available links to session recordings.

New educational technology helps educators prepare students for the workforce.
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Educational technology has been utilized in K-12 classrooms for decades. New options emerge and educators learn how to harness them to benefit student learning and preparation for life as productive citizens after graduation. The rally cry in classrooms has always been a reminder to use technology as a tool for learning, not for technology's sake. We must keep this in mind as education acclimates to generative AI.

At times, it feels like you might have to be a full-time IT professional to make sense of what is happening at the speed of generative AI. Inevitably, schools will have to embrace generative AI, learn to harness its value, and teach students how to navigate its potential dangers. But first, educators and policymakers must understand the technology well enough to begin that journey. This article's discussion has not even addressed the complicated conversation regarding the need for clear definitions of cheating, plagiarism, and appropriate use. It is a crucial conversation that deserves, and will get, its own piece.

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Worried About Generative AI In K-12 Schools? Here's How To Navigate 4 Key Issues

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Generative AI issues in K-12 schools include policies on appropriate student use, AI as an instructional tool, and preparing students for the workforce.

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Forbes: Lack Of Policy Regarding Generative AI Use In Schools Places Students At Risk

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Forbes: Lack Of Policy Regarding Generative AI Use In Schools Places Students At Risk

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For over 20 years, U.S. school divisions have embraced 1:1 laptop initiatives for students and weighed the pros and cons of 1:1 and Bring Your Own Device programs. Across the U.S., disparities related to technology were spotlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic as school closures led to sweeping efforts to provide devices and accessible internet services to students and communities.

The Covid-19 pandemic led to sweeping efforts across the U.S. to provide devices and accessible ... [+]
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These initiatives drove changes in instructional practices as more K-12 students gained access to technology and the limitless information and tools found on the internet. Historically, schools have always been responsible for addressing the educational impact of technological advancements.

In 2023, generative AI has burst on the scene. Available for less than 12 months, generative AI is already universally accessible, often for free. At this early stage, schools are unsure what to do with generative AI and what it means for learning and teaching. From initial outright bans and efforts to embrace generative AI to a change in course, as acknowledged by New York City Public Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, school district responses vary and are evolving.

It is safe to say that K-12 schools across the country are considering the impact of generative AI, but there has not been enough time for coherent policies to be in place. As UNESCO notes in a recent press release, the "education sector is largely unprepared for the ethical and pedagogical integration" of generative AI tools in schools. UNESCO cites a lack of policy as a recent global survey of over 450 schools and universities showed 7% of K-12 schools reported having "institutional policies and/or formal guidance concerning the use of generative AI applications."

However, the 2023-24 school year has begun. Teachers are assigning and students are writing required papers. With the introduction of, and unlimited access to, generative AI, schools must quickly consider what AI literacy and acceptable use practices look like.

With the search command "define generative artificial intelligence in 30 words or fewer," ChatGPT defined itself in this way: "Generative AI creates new content like text, images, or music by learning patterns from existing data, producing innovative outputs resembling human creation."

Yikes. What does "new content...resembling human creation" mean for learning and teaching? And what does academic integrity mean for generative AI and K-12 schools? Those are the questions of the day.

Generative AI creates new content like text, images, or music, resembling human creation.
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Creative content generation is a skill teachers foster in students. Now a tool exists that not only reports existing data but creates content. That is a sticking point for policies and practices in education, and for definitions of cheating and plagiarism.

The stakes are high. Some students have been falsely accused of using AI. Some are using it with teacher permission. What might the impact be on a student accused of cheating because they used generative AI as a tool in their writing while their K-12 school did not have a comprehensive appropriate use policy in place? The lack of, and need for, clear definitions of academic integrity, cheating, plagiarism, and appropriate use relative to generative AI in K-12 schools is worrisome.

How can students, teachers, and parents cope? They can start by learning more, asking questions, and talking to each other. Look at your child's course syllabi and see if there is any reference to generative AI use. AI approval left to individual faculty judgment risks being inconsistent and uninformed. Middle and high school students may have eight classes, with eight teachers who have eight different perspectives on the definition of cheating. Ask school leaders if there is consistency of understanding across classrooms and throughout schools.

Resources such as OpenAI's guide for teachers, The AI Education Project's September 18 webinar, and the U.S. Department of Education's " Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning " report can help.

While generative AI software is available to students, software to catch AI-using students is available to teachers. Common Sense Media offers advice on handling AI in schools and suggests using AI detectors as a last resort. This is a murky area, as seen in The Washington Post article " What to do when you're accused of AI cheating." Not surprisingly, new software specifically designed to bypass AI detection tools has emerged and offers strategies to avoid getting caught. To protect writing process integrity, products that automatically track writing drafts for students, such as Rumi, are emerging.

Students are aware of and thinking critically about pros and cons of generative AI.
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Students are aware of and thinking critically about pros and cons of generative AI. In Virginia, Henrico County Public Schools students enrolled at Deep Run High School thoughtfully share their understanding of the complexities of AI through this insightful analysis. Watch these sharp young minds tap into the benefits and dangers of generative AI for students and the inevitable impact of AI on their future workforce.

School divisions must create or update acceptable use policies for generative AI. Until then, protect yourselves as educators or your children as students by talking about and knowing what is expected in your schools.

Comedian Brian Regan has a funny storyline about a Beer Belly Bandit who was only identifiable by his robust midsection. In the routine, Regan sardonically questions if there were any false leads based on such a broad description. He mimics a concerned citizen calling the police department to report many potential suspects at McGillicuddy's Bar.

At the time, the bit's comedic picture in my mind made me laugh out loud. But it also reminds me of the serious situation our students face this academic year as generative AI is available to them but policies are not in place.

Teachers are rightly concerned about authentic student work that meets academic quality and integrity standards. I am deeply concerned that until schools and families gain clarity on what constitutes acceptable use of generative AI, teachers and administrators may be forced into the not so comedic position of imagining cheaters everywhere and becoming AI vigilantes.

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Lack Of Policy Regarding Generative AI Use In Schools Places Students At Risk

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A lack of policy and clear definitions regarding academic integrity, cheating, and appropriate use of generative AI in K-12 schools places students at risk.

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The Virginia Pilot: Virginia educators grapple with how best to use AI

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The Virginia Pilot: Virginia educators grapple with how best to use AI

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RICHMOND - Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently issued an executive directive that emphasized the looming impact of artificial intelligence, though higher education is only beginning to grapple with how to utilize AI.

Youngkin's order is to ensure AI is used responsibly, ethically and transparently in state government, job creation and education.

A survey released earlier this year found that 60% of college students polled have not been taught how to use AI tools ethically or responsibly by higher education instructors. The same percentage of students also think AI tools will become the new normal, according to the BestColleges survey.

A U.S. Department of Education policy report published in May stated support for using AI to improve teaching and learning. The department stated the need to develop clear policy for AI use and that the anticipated risks and unintended consequences must be addressed.

ChatGPT was released to the public less than a year ago. The chatbot uses language models to mimic human writing and dialogue. It can respond to questions and generate various written content, including emails, prompts and articles. The chatbot is a form of generative AI, which can also create images, videos, songs and code.

Educators at every level are now faced with how to appropriately address the new technology.

Like many universities, Virginia Commonwealth University faculty and staff continue to discuss AI's role and how to guide professors moving forward, according to Mangala Subramaniam, the university's senior vice provost of faculty affairs.

VCU will solicit feedback from faculty on Sept. 26 to learn how AI has impacted their classrooms. The university will create an advisory council of faculty who are familiar with AI, and who can provide updated guidance for professors.

Faculty at VCU are either fearful of the technology, or they're willing to experiment with it, according to Subramaniam.

The university held two forums earlier this year focused on the potential challenges and opportunities of AI, including ChatGPT. Professors have the freedom to decide if they want to use AI in their classroom and are advised to make expectations clear in the syllabus about its use, according to Subramaniam.

Educators may face problems with AI, including plagiarism and how to detect if a student uses AI. Students may face uncertainty of acceptable and allowed use. VCU describes AI plagiarism and copyright as a "difficult topic" and advises that it should be made clear to students they will be punished if they submit AI-generated work as original content, according to VCU learning tool guide.

Educators and businesses need clear ways to detect AI-generated work, which has driven an industry response.

The software Turnitin allows educators to detect originality and plagiarism. It can now detect 97% of ChatGPT and GPT3 writing, according to its website.

VerifiedHuman is a relatively new company that seeks to differentiate human-made media versus AI-generated media, according to its founder Micah Voraritskul.

VerifiedHuman is conducting a study where the company will collect a thousand writing samples from college and high school students across the globe to see what is written by a human, written by AI, or put through an AI scrubber, according to Voraritskul. A scrubber is intended to modify AI-generated text and make it appear more human.

"I think what we're trying to do is help institutions of higher learning have some kind of policy," Voraritskul said.

Teachers are nervous about AI because their job is to assess student learning, he said.

"It's hard to assess student learning ... if 90% of assessment is done in writing and you can't determine whether or not the student wrote that, you don't know what the student has actually learned," Voraritskul said.

Student and faculty reaction to AI use depends on the assignment, the outcome and the standards of learning. Arielle Andrews is a VCU interdisciplinary studies student, with a focus on media studies, sociology and creative writing. She is a contributing writer for the independent student newspaper The Commonwealth Times.

"I think the best thing to do for students is instead of teaching them to fear, or like have a disdain for AI, is to more teach them how to work alongside it and use it ethically," Andrews said.

AI can be a beneficial tool and better used for things that are not "super impactful to the learning process," Andrews said.

"If an assignment can easily be completed by AI, then it's not testing those human traits of writing that it should," Andrews said.

Voraritskul is "pro AI." The tools can help students do better work in the future, he said. But he sees the potential danger of AI influence on critical thinking and understanding difficult concepts.

"When teachers are asking students to figure hard things out they want them to use their brains," Voraritskul said. "They want them to exercise their brain muscle so they can figure out what's going on in this problem."

Although the BestColleges survey found students were concerned about AI's impact on their education, more students were concerned about the impact of AI on society at large.

Voraritskul recalled that math teachers all over the world were concerned students would not learn how to add or subtract when Texas Instruments mass produced the first affordable calculators.

"Well that wasn't true," Voraritskul said. "And what are you going to do? Stop the calculator? Stop the computer? Stop the internet? Stop AI? No, you can't. You have to adjust."
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University's Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.

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Virginia educators grapple with how best to use AI

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Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently issued an executive directive that emphasized the looming impact of artificial intelligence, though higher education is only beginning to grapple with how to utilize AI...

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NYT: How Schools Can Survive (and Maybe Even Thrive) With A.I. This Fall

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NYT: How Schools Can Survive (and Maybe Even Thrive) With A.I. This Fall

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How Schools Can Survive A.I. - The New York Times

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The Hill: As educators embrace AI, debate shifts to bias and equity concerns

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The Hill: As educators embrace AI, debate shifts to bias and equity concerns

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The AI debate in education is shifting to equity, as schools are dropping their bans on ChatGPT and artificial intelligence has been added to numerous learning platforms.

Used as a tutor or as an assistant for teachers to create more personalized lesson plans, AI has brought great hope for the future of technology. But that hope is also crowded by studies showing racial bias and concerns AI will lead to an even bigger tech divide for rural and poor students.

"As with any technology, it is important that it incorporates the learning styles and contexts in which they are deployed, and to have AI be an effective tool and resource for educators as well as students," said Nicol Turner Lee, director for The Center of Technology at the Brookings Institute. "There needs to be an inclusive framework for how these resources get integrated into our classrooms."

The conversation around AI in schools shot to the forefront last November. ChatGPT took the country by storm, sparking cheating concerns and causing multiple large school districts to ban the technology from their buildings. Schools have since reversed the ban, after learning more about AI and seeing many education platforms adopt the technology to their products.

In Connecticut, the state's education department is partnering with a technology company this school year to get AI into more classrooms with the goal of combatting learning loss.

Some have argued AI, used correctly, can help close equity gaps between students, especially neurodiverse students who may need more specialized plans.

"I think AI tools can actually help make that happen by helping teachers create lessons and pedagogical practices that are unique to kids, which gets into the other piece of this, which is around neurodiversity, kids who have special needs," said Jean-Claude Brizard, president and CEO of Digital Promise, a nonprofit with the goal of equitable education in technology.

"I think AI has the potential to leverage what we know in learning science that can really help with neurodiverse kids. [...] There is a massive opportunity here to really begin to close gaps around inequity," added Brizard.

Along with helping with the learning gap, AI has the potential to alleviate another concern in the education field: the teacher shortage.

Since COVID-19, schools have been struggling with a loss of educators, with states taking actions such as loosening requirements on out-of-state teaching licenses and letting veterans teach in order to fill the gaps.

"To a certain extent, the technology, again, is going to help offload some of the other burdens that teachers have when it comes to assisting in attendance and things like that. You know, in light of the fact that there is a teacher shortage" said Lee.

While AI can be a helpful assistant for educators and students, some have raised concerns that it can cause inequities in schools, particularly in lesson plans made for minority students.

An EdWeek Research Center survey in 2022 - but before ChatGPT came to the scene - found 34 percent of educators were somewhat concerned and 10 percent were very concerned about the potential for racial bias in AI.

Multiple studies have shown that in areas like health care and facial recognition AI has racial bias.

"I think there's a really good chance and probably already happening that in schools that are high poverty schools that serve more disadvantaged students, and, of course, that's tied to race and economics and language and everything else, the technology may be used more for direct tutoring and test preparation so in that kind of situation, it's really the AI is in control and driving the interactions with the students," said Glenn Kleiman, a senior adviser at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. "Whereas in other places or other uses it can be used more for fostering creativity and critical problem-solving, and even collaboration and communication."

Another concern is rural and poor students getting left behind, as those school districts typically have more struggles getting the latest technology and, as well as educators who are able to teach it.

"But we also talk about this idea of digital learning, which is how do you train teachers effectively, not just in affluent communities, but in our poorest communities, to understand how to leverage the technology," said Brizard.

In California, they recently revamped their math education which puts an emphasis on computer science as an important subject for students. Other school districts have partnered with groups such as the AI Education Project to ensure teachers and students become efficient in the new technology.

As AI continues to develop rapidly, experts say this is the perfect time to bring different interest groups together to ensure the smooth transition of AI in schools and continue discussions on how to keep up with it.

"So many people have a dystopian view of AI. I'm hopeful, and I'm happy about this development. I just think as an education system, we not only have to catch up, we've got to get ahead of this. Our leaders in education have to become leaders and activists versus passengers in this kind of effort," said Brizard.

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As educators embrace AI, debate shifts to bias and equity concerns

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The AI debate in education is shifting to equity, as schools are dropping their bans on ChatGPT and artificial intelligence has been added to numerous learning platforms. Used as a tutor or as an assistant for teachers to create more personalized lesson plans, AI has brought great hope for the future of technology.

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USDOE Report: AI and the Future of Teaching and Learning

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USDOE Report: AI and the Future of Teaching and Learning